Sludge-reducing machine.



H. H. STEPHENS SLUDGE REDUCING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, I9I4. RENEWED JAN- 25, I916.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l- @V M MNSQE o. 2 N. MRDQE H. H. STEPHENS. SLUDGE REDUCING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1914. RENEWED JAN. 25. 1916. 71,172,861

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

FIGURE 4 FIGURE 6 Flames! 62121 1 A TTORNE Y.

E STATES PA. jv

HARRY H. STEPHENS, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

snuncn-rmnucrno MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 27, 1914, Serial No. 847,568. Renewed January 25, 1916. Serial No. 74,278.

To all whom it mag/concern.

Be it known that I, HARRY H. STEPHENS, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Sludge-Reducing Machine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for re- -moving a large proportion of the liquid,

water or moisture content of sludge which has been removed from sewage by straining or other operation. And my invention relates to apparatus for operating upon any other like material for like purposes.

. It is the object of my invention to provide apparatus of the character above referred to which shall have relatively few moving and wearing parts, whichshall economically remove the liquid or moisture, that is, with small consumption of power, and which shall be automatic and continuous in operation, thereby eliminating manual labor, and protecting attendants from contact with the material operated upon. To these ends I have provided apparatus of the character hereinafter described which involves a slowly rotating screen cylinder or drum with connections for producing suction on one side of the screen to withdraw the moisture, together with means for removing the residue sludge or other material.

.4 is a fragmentary sectional view througha part of the rotating drum. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the brush and its supporting and driving means. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view through an end of the rotating drum and the associated'suction connection parts. Fig. 7 is an end elevational view showing 7 means for adjusting the angular position of the suction connection. Fig. 8 is an elevational view, looking from the right toward the left on Fig. 6, of the suction connection an electric motor M, which, drives the sprocket wheel 6 which in turn drives the sprocket chain .7 which drives the sprocket wheel '8 secured upon the worm shaft 9 PatentedFeb.22,1916.

carrying a worm which meshes with the worm wheel 10, within the casing 11, and secured upon and rotating the shaft 3 and thereby the drum 2.

The drum2 comprises-a series of longitudinally extending troughs 12 preferably closely adjacent to each other throughout the circumference of the drum, as indicated in Fig. 4. Each of these troughs is deep and connects throughout its length directly with its ports 19, thus insuring uniform suction throughout the length of the trough on the inside of the screen 14, the path of air and moisture being straight or direct to port 19 from each perforation in the screen 14, and not indirect or circuitous as in centrally connected shallow troughs.

On the webs .13 forming the dividing wallsbetween neighboring troughs is disposed the screen 14. This screen-may be comprised of sheet metal having a plurality of perforationstherein, such as narrow slots, as indicated at 15 in Fig. 1. Or the screen may be of any other suitable type such as wire mesh or the like.

The troughs 12 .are'adapted to come in V succession into communication with the trough 16 extending through the wall of the casing 1 close to the revolving drum 2, the direction of -rotation beingthat indicated by the, arrow in Fig. 2. Each trough 12 is of such depth as to form a passage 17 which becomes narrower andnarrower circumferentially of the drum until near the hub 18 this passage is the slot. or port 19. To the flange 20 on the drum 2 is secured by bolts 21 the ring 22 having the ears or lugs 23 through which are scrw threaded thev bolts 24 between which and ring 25 are disposed the springs 26, and between the ring 25 and the circular plate 27 are disposed the anti-friction balls 28. By suitably adjusting the bolts 24 the springs 26 are put under suitable compression to thrust with suitable force against the stationary ring member 27 whichis a part of the suction connection member 29 having, the annular chamber 30 closed as to a part of its circumference on the inside by the wall 31, the part not covered by the wall 31 forming the port 32 with which the slotsor ports 19 come into communication in their revolution, the member 29 being stationary. The angular extent of the port 32 is preferably substantially equal to the angle between the point 33, Fig. 2, at the rear end of the bottom opening of trough 16 and the point 34 where the scra er or knife engages the screen 14. On thls part of the drum 2 between the points 33 and 34 there is a coating of sludge, while the remainder of the screen 14 between the point 34 and point 33 around the bottom of the drum is open .or free or substantially so.

On the member 29 is an arm 35 carrying the pivot screws 36 holding the nut 37 screw threaded to receive the threaded rod 38 which has a bearing at 39, supported upon the casing 1, the rod'38 adapted to have applied to its end 40 a wrench or other device for rotating the rod 38 and thus circumferentially adjusting the suction connection member 29 to suitable or. desired position. Communicating with the chamber 30 is the pipe connection 41 with which connection is made to a suction pump, such as a water seal vacuum or suction pump which reduces the pressure of the air within the chamber 30 and those troughs 12 in communication therewith below atmospheric pressure.

Across the joints 42 between the rotating drum and the suction connection member 29 extend the packings 43, constituting rings of U. section as shown in Fig. 6. The pressure on the outside of these packing rings being greater than that within they are held snugly across the joints to prevent leakage of air into the apparatus.

On the rod 44, Fig. 2, extending across in front of the drum 2 and supported by the casing 1 are one or more members 45, disposed side by side, and carrying knives or scrapers 46 held to the member 45 by screws 47 extending through the elongated slots 48 in the knife or scraper blades, shown in Fig. 3. The member 45 carries one or more rollers '49 resting against the rotating drum 2 or screen 14. Hung upon the rod 44 by hooks 50 are sludge chutes 51.

Secured upon the shaft 3 is a sprocket wheel 52 which drives a sprocket chain 53 which drives a sprocket wheel 54 secured upon a shaft 55 having bearings 56, Fig. 5, on members 57 pivoted upona rod 58 extending parallel with the outer face of the drum 2. The rod 59 serves to hold the other ends of themember's 57 rigid with respect to each other. Secured upon the shaft 55 is the rotary brush 60 which engages the surface of the screen 14 on the drum 2. For

troughs 12, ports 19, through the access to the blades or scrapers 46 the easis attached by screws 62 a rubber member 63 extending under the trough at its rear and also partially up the ends as indicated at 64. In operation, the motor M is started and .the drum 2 rotated at suitable speed and the vacuum or suction pump, not shown, is also started. The sludge containing the liquid or moisture to be removed is introduced through the trough 16 and, guided or controlled by member 63, lodges'upon the screen 14 with which it rotates from point 33 toward point 34. During this rotation there is suction produced by the suction pump because of communication of the chamber 30 with those ports 19 of the troughs 12 which are at the time between the points 33 and 34. This produces a suction on the under side of the screen between these same points, thus drawing through'the sludge some air and extracting from the sludge a very great part of its moisture or water orliquid content, with the result that the air and this liquid or moisture passes through the port 32 into the chamber 30 and thence through the pipe connection 41 to the suction or vacuum pump, from which the liquid or moisture is discharged. As the sludge reaches the blades or knives or scrapers 46 these scrape the sludge off the screen 14 and the sludge passes down over members 45 and chutes 51 into the sludge receiving chamber 67 from which .it may be removed. The screen is brushed by brush 60 after it has passed the scrapers or knives to clean the perforations or holes therein ready to receive further sludge as each part of the screen comes into communication with trough 16. Any moisture, liquid or other matter which may collect within the casing 1 is withdrawn at aperture 65.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary drum having 'a plurality of compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, a stationary suction connection, and ports communicating with said compartments adapted to come successively into communication with said suction connection, the bottoms of said compartments increasing in dis- -of a screen covering said compartments, a

stationary suction connection, ports in one end face of said drum communicating with scribed, the combination with a rotary drum said compartments and adapted to come successively into communication with said suction connection, said compartments communicating throughout their lengths directly with said ports and decreasing in depth directly from said ports to the opposite end of said drum.

3. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary screen, of a plurality of compartments covered by said screen, a stationary suction connection, ports communicating with said compartments adapted to come successively into communication with said suction connection, means for removing material from said screen, said suction connection having a port communicating with said compartment ports and having an angular extent substantially equal to the angle between the point of entry of material on to said screen and the point of removal of material from said screen, and means for angula'rly shifting said suction connection.

4. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary drum having a plurality of longitudinally-extending compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, a stationary suction connection having an arcuate port, said compartments having ports in a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of said drum, said ports adapted to come into communication in succession with said port of said suction connection, and means for angularly shifting said suction connection with respect to the axis of said drum.

5. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary drum having longitudinally extending compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, an end of said drum having ports communicating with said compartments and disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of said drum, a stationary suction connection having a port adapted to communicate with said ports in succession, and means rotatable with said drum holding said suction connection in operative relation with said end of said drum.

6. In apparatus of the character dehaving longitudinally extending compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, an end of said'drum having ports communicating with said compartments and disposed in a. plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of said drum, a stationary 7. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary drum having longitudinally extending compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, an end of said drum having ports communicating with said compartments and disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of said drum, a stationary suction connection having a port adapted to communicate with said ports in succession, means rotatable with said drum resiliently thrusting said suction connection toward the end of said drum, and rotary bearing members intervening between said means and said suction connection.

8. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary drum having longitudinally extending compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, an end of said drum having ports communicating with said compartments and disposed in' a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of said drum, a stationary suction connection having a port adapted to communicate with said ports in succession, means rotatable with said drum holding said suction connection in operative relation with said end of said drum, and means for angularly adjusting said suction connection.

9. In apparatus of the character described, the combination with a rotary drum having a plurality of longitudinally extending compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, a drum end having ports disposed in a plane at right angles to the axis of rotation of said drum and directly communicating with said compartments, each of said compartments having a bottom tapering directly from the opposite end of said drum radially inwardly to said end of said drum, whereby each compartment has a maximum depth at said end of said drum and a minimum depth at the opposite end of said drum.

10. In apparatus of the characterdescribed, the combination with a rotary drum having a plurality of compartments, of a screen covering said compartments, a suction connection having a port with respect communication with said suction connection port, and means for angularly shifting said suction connection. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

HARRY H. STEPHENS.

' Witnesses:

NELLIE FIELD, Amos S. MARSH. 

